HOUSE BILL NO. 4381
March 14, 2019, Introduced by Reps. Hoadley,
Pagan, Hornberger, Glenn, Alexander, Witwer, Pohutsky, Anthony, Brixie,
Clemente, Ellison, Guerra, Hammoud, Garza, Manoogian, Whiteford, LaGrand,
Love, Rendon, Kuppa, Bolden, Sabo, Elder, Sowerby, Camilleri, Whitsett,
Cynthia Johnson, Neeley, Hertel, Koleszar, Sneller, Kennedy, Tyrone Carter,
Shannon, Hauck, Tate, Lasinski, Greig, Byrd, Garrett, Warren, Rabhi, Jones,
Wittenberg and Gay-Dagnogo and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "campus sexual assault response improvement plan and grant act".
(a) "Department" means the department of health and human services.
(b) "Fund" means the campus sexual assault response improvement grant fund created in section 7.
(c) "Institution of higher education" means an institution of higher education, a public community college, or a public junior college described in sections 4 to 7 of article VIII of the state constitution of 1963.
(d) "Interim measures specialist" means an employee who oversees the implementation of interim measures to ensure continued participation in education by, and the safety of, a student who has filed an initial complaint of sexual assault until a final resolution of the complaint.
(e) "Title IX" means title IX of Public Law 92-318.
(f) "Title IX report" means the report described in section 274d of the state school aid act of 1979, 1979 PA 94, MCL 388.1874d.
Sec. 5. An institution of higher education is strongly encouraged to do the following:
(a) Develop a 5-year campus sexual assault improvement plan after conducting the meetings described in subdivision (b) that identifies the specific steps necessary for that institution to improve responses to campus sexual assault. A plan developed under this subdivision may include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(i) Specific data points in the annual title IX report issued by the institution of higher education.
(ii) Methods to improve counseling services, including, but not limited to, hiring additional counseling staff or providing additional resources to counseling staff.
(iii) Training for title IX investigators and hiring additional title IX investigators.
(iv) Education for students and employees regarding sexual assault, bystander intervention, and reporting.
(v) Hiring interim measures specialists.
(b) Conduct not less than 2 public meetings regarding the development of the 5-year campus sexual assault improvement plan described in subdivision (a).
(c) Not later than January 1, 2020, submit the 5-year campus sexual assault improvement plan developed under subdivision (a) to the department and the Michigan domestic and sexual violence prevention and treatment board and make the plan available to the public on that institution's website.
(d) Not later than January 1, 2025, submit a final report to the department and the Michigan domestic and sexual violence prevention and treatment board that details the specific steps identified in the plan submitted under subdivision (c) that the institution of higher education implemented and any resulting improvements to responses to campus sexual assault.
Sec. 7. (1) The campus sexual assault response improvement grant fund is created within the department of treasury.
(2) The state treasurer may receive money or other assets from any source for deposit into the fund, including general fund appropriations, gifts, state and federal grants, and bequests. The state treasurer shall direct the investment of the fund. The state treasurer shall credit to the fund interest and earnings from fund investments.
(3) Money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund and not lapse to the general fund.
(4) The department is the administrator of the fund for auditing purposes.
(5) The department shall expend money from the fund, upon appropriation, only to provide grants to eligible institutions of higher education as provided in section 9.
Sec. 9. (1) The campus sexual assault response improvement grant program is established in the department. Beginning October 1, 2020, the department, in consultation with the department of state police and the Michigan domestic and sexual violence prevention and treatment board, shall assist institutions of higher education in implementing improvement measures for campus sexual assault response by providing funding to do so to eligible institutions of higher education from the fund created in section 7. The department shall develop guidelines and procedures for the program, create evaluation measures for the use of the fund, and make the evaluation measures available to institutions of higher education that participate in the program.
(2) An institution of higher education may apply to the department as provided in this section to participate in the program and is not prohibited from applying to the program if that institution has been or is awarded a different grant to improve the safety and security of students, faculty, and staff by addressing campus sexual assault issues.
(3) An institution of higher education that has developed a 5-year campus sexual assault improvement plan described in section 5 is eligible to participate in the program.
(4) An eligible institution of higher education may apply to participate in the program by providing the department with the 5-year sexual assault improvement plan submitted under section 5 in the manner required by the department.
(5) A grant awarded to an institution of higher education under this section is for a period of 5 years.
(6) An institution of higher education awarded a grant under this section must provide an annual report on the progress of the 5-year campus sexual assault improvement plan provided under subsection (4) to the department and to the Michigan domestic and sexual violence prevention and treatment board, and may use the grant funds for any of the following:
(a) To improve counseling services by hiring additional counseling staff or providing additional resources to counseling staff.
(b) To train title IX investigators and hire additional title IX investigators.
(c) To educate students and employees regarding sexual assault, bystander intervention, and reporting.
(d) To hire interim measures specialists.
(e) To implement any other measure that the institution of higher education has identified as a necessary step to improve responses to campus sexual assault.
(7) The Michigan domestic and sexual violence prevention and treatment board shall monitor, review, and evaluate the program by doing the following each year:
(a) Provide technical assistance to each institution of higher education participating in the program.
(b) Rate each 5-year campus sexual assault improvement plan by identifying the steps implemented as a result of participation in the program to improve responses to campus sexual assault.
(c) Provide other assistance in implementing the program, as appropriate.
Sec. 11. After receiving a final report under section 5(d) or an annual report under section 9(6), and once every 5 years after that, the department, in consultation with the Michigan domestic and sexual violence prevention and treatment board, shall compile a report of best practices for responses to campus sexual assault. A report compiled under this section must be submitted to the legislature and made available to the public on the internet on the department's website.
Enacting section 1. This act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.